Fungal meningitis outbreak reaches Pennsylvania

The Pennsylvania Department of Health today reported that the state has its first case of fungal meningitis linked to the national outbreak. The outbreak is believed to have started from contaminated medication produced by the New England Compounding Center in Framingham, Mass.

View full sizeA closeup view through the lens of a microscope and magnified on the computer screen of the meningitis causing fungus Exserohilum rostratum at the Mycotic lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Oct. 12, 2012 in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Pouya Dianat)

The Pennsylvania patient received an epidural steroid injection in July at Allegheny Pain Management in Altoona. The facility was one of two locations in Pennsylvania that received shipments of the specific lots of steroid medication responsible for the national outbreak.

No illnesses have been found to date at the other, the South Hills Pain Clinic in Allegheny County.

The Pennsylvania patient, who was not identified, is hospitalized.

This strain of meningitis isn't contagious and doesn't spread between people. It is likely isolated to the contaminated steroid, produced by the New England Compounding Center.

"This is a very unusual infection," said Dr. John Jernigan, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention medical epidemiologist who is leading the clinical investigation team for the outbreak response. "So, treatment recommendations, diagnostic recommendations are all going to be new, and we're learning as we go on this one."

Meningitis, an inflammation of the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, is not uncommon. But it is usually caused by bacteria, and it is very unusual to see it in patients with normal immune systems, Jernigan said. This strain is caused by a fungus that is common in dirt and grasses — people routinely come into contact with it without getting sick — but it has never before been identified as the cause of meningitis.

The CDC says many of the cases have been mild, but some people had strokes.

As of Sunday, the CDC said 205 illnesses and 15 deaths have been linked to the outbreak. Besides Pennsylvania, patients are in Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.

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